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Friday, August 7, 2015

Pixels Adoption Movie Review

In 1982, teenage friends Sam and Will love the arcade. Sam
nearly wins a world championship, but loses to brash, arrogant Eddie. In the
present day, Sam is stuck in a technical services job while Will is the
president of the United States. Sam’s fortunes change when his primary skills –
retro video games – become in high demand, after Earth is invaded by aliens
mimicking 1980’s era arcade games.

The Adoption
Connection

There’s no adoption in the film. There is some sense of
familial disruption that might resonate with kids who’ve been in the foster
care system; one boy is in the midst of a parental break-up, he explains that
his dad left his mom for a nineteen-year-old Pilates instructor. Another
character confides that his marriage ended after his wife cheated on him with
the infertility doctor who had been working with them.

One of the alien invaders takes the form of Pac-Man. The
creator of Pac-Man arrives and says, “you are my son. You are a good boy.”
Pac-Man attacks him, and the creator changes his tune, ordering others to
destroy Pac-Man.

Strong Points

Even though their lives have gone in considerably different
directions, Sam and Will are loyal friends to each other.

There is a positive message in the film that, even if your
life has been disappointing so far, you have within yourself the potential to
create something great.

Challenges

All of the violence is cartoonish, but some of it is still
disturbing.

Some adults and kids might find one scene disturbing where
aliens abduct a child right in front of his screaming mother. She later goes to
great lengths to try to get him back.

Weak Points

All of the protagonists appear to have unhealthy, immature,
or objectifying views towards women.

Recommendations

I have to disclose that I’m a retro video game nerd (I’ve
even got several high scores at the 1984 arcade in Springfield, Missouri), and
I’ve been personally looking forward to Pixels for a while.

Questions for Discussion

What’s the biggest, greatest thing you can imagine doing?
How can you achieve it?